Overflow Daily...ish: The Meaning of Life
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Perhaps, as tou were going through the book of Ecclesiastes you were thinking the same thing. Seeking in this wisdom book the point of it all, the purpose of life. And one by one, like dominoes everything that you thought would be the ultimate source of satisfaction was toppled over.
Whether it was wealth, wisdom, satisfaction of sexual desires, accomplishments, or power, all was vanity. All was a chasing after the wind. And this flies directly in the face of all that this world teaches us to be the true source for hope, joy, and satisfaction. We are challenged deeply and left to consider, if not those things then what? Unlike {insert your rambling friend here}, Solomon closes with words of encouragement. Words that put everything in order and into perspective. He tells us that ultimately, the best thing that we can do in life is to “Fear God and keep his commandments”.
And this is very much a theme that we see all throughout the book as the whole duty of man (cf. 2:24–26; 3:12–13; 3:22; 5:18–20; 8:15; 9:7–10; 11:7–10). In the end, those who do not fear God are those who have no hope at all. Because there will be a day of reckoning and everything that we have thought, said, and done will be exposed and judged by the God above (11:9).
And after 12 chapters, we find that Solomon was not writing his book to bring us down into the dumps, nor was he just rambling about the vanity of life. He was leading to this ultimate conclusion that life has meaning and is beautiful and of permanent worth when we understand it rightly. When we understand that the pleasures in this world can be enjoyed, but true lasting joy comes only from God. We no longer need to chase after fleeting things, the wise response is to fear God and keep his commands.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alex
If you would like to join the Bible Reading Plan, you can do so by clicking the Connect button under the Group Reading section @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity
****************************************************
Check out the new Church Website! www.overflowcup.com
You may also follow Overflow Church by joining the church group @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity or on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/OverflowChurchTX/
To Subscribe to this blog, click on the "Subscribe" button at the top of the blog page (https://aogalvez.blogspot.com/)
Whether it was wealth, wisdom, satisfaction of sexual desires, accomplishments, or power, all was vanity. All was a chasing after the wind. And this flies directly in the face of all that this world teaches us to be the true source for hope, joy, and satisfaction. We are challenged deeply and left to consider, if not those things then what? Unlike {insert your rambling friend here}, Solomon closes with words of encouragement. Words that put everything in order and into perspective. He tells us that ultimately, the best thing that we can do in life is to “Fear God and keep his commandments”.
And this is very much a theme that we see all throughout the book as the whole duty of man (cf. 2:24–26; 3:12–13; 3:22; 5:18–20; 8:15; 9:7–10; 11:7–10). In the end, those who do not fear God are those who have no hope at all. Because there will be a day of reckoning and everything that we have thought, said, and done will be exposed and judged by the God above (11:9).
And after 12 chapters, we find that Solomon was not writing his book to bring us down into the dumps, nor was he just rambling about the vanity of life. He was leading to this ultimate conclusion that life has meaning and is beautiful and of permanent worth when we understand it rightly. When we understand that the pleasures in this world can be enjoyed, but true lasting joy comes only from God. We no longer need to chase after fleeting things, the wise response is to fear God and keep his commands.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alex
If you would like to join the Bible Reading Plan, you can do so by clicking the Connect button under the Group Reading section @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity
****************************************************
Check out the new Church Website! www.overflowcup.com
You may also follow Overflow Church by joining the church group @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity or on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/OverflowChurchTX/
To Subscribe to this blog, click on the "Subscribe" button at the top of the blog page (https://aogalvez.blogspot.com/)
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